Does "So Last Season" Still Exist?

I fell hard for Gucci's Spring 2015 collection, still under the direction of Frida Giannini, when it hit the runway last September—that band jacket, those sailor pants. By the time those pieces hit retailers, the industry conversation had already turned to new creative director Alessandro Michele's modern Morgot Tennenbaums with their lurex skirts, fur jackets and staid expressions.

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The speed of fashion has become breakneck—still more high-brow Formula One than NASCAR, but nonetheless exceeding the sound barrier. It's not news that as soon as a designer takes their bow, they walk directly from the runway back to the studio to sketch the new collection. This "onto the next" culture can make even the current collections in stores feel dated. In this rapidly turning fashion eco-system, do "it" items fall out of favor faster, or is "so last season" a cliché that's so over?

Nicole Fritton, fashion and accessories director of Harper's Bazaar, thinks that in the case of those recognizable runway pieces—the Prada face bag, the Rochas pink coat, the Dries van Noten print—the trick lies in taking a well-timed breather. "Take a season off," she explains, "Then suddenly a season later, it's iconic and not something that feels old—the fashion geeks will call you out."

Like so many other lessons in life, the deciding factor is and should be that one deceptively simple word—love. Are you attached enough to an item to let it become part of your style persona?

"That recognizable piece can definitely become your signature," Joanna Hillman, style director of Harper's Bazaar says, "If you love it and wear it well and often, it becomes your classic."

And its role in your closet can change—from star of the show to reasonable place in the rotation. "There are people who wear a lot of prints, who clearly won't invest in all the new prints each season," Fritton explains, "If you invested in the Stella McCartney citrus print, wear it later on vacation—it's perfect for a day in Capri."

For every special piece that could be filed under the "makes me feel joy" tab in Marie Kondo's buzzed about book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, there are those that are particularly trend-driven—think fringe jackets, bucket bags and pink coats. In that case, Hillman suggests keeping an eye on the runway, "If the trends are still there on the next season's runway, don't take time off from it—keep wearing it."

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Diego Zuko

Leandra Medine, founder of ManRepeller.com finds the thought of attaching clothing to a season as passé. "I am profoundly pro [wearing last season's wares]—an evangelist of building a wardrobe that is not treated like the fresh produce aisle in a supermarket. Clothes are supposed to be treated like a non-perishable good," the New Yorker explains. "In fact I'm more inclined to wear pieces indicative of a season past its season."

Retailer Elyse Walker, founder of FWRD.com and its brick and mortar boutique in California, has a vested interest in the "turnover your wardrobe every season" route, but instead opts for pieces with staying-power. "Almost every single leather jacket I own, from Rick Owens to Acne, is a past season favorite," Walker explains, "These pieces just look better and better when they're a little aged and worn in. I carry any bags by Balenciaga and runway shoes from Saint Laurent through from one season to the next."

In 2015, a time when bloggers still rule and personal style is king, wearing pieces past their supposed "sell by" date isn't only acceptable, according to Walker, it's preferable. "I actually think it's very cool. The reason why you invest in a runway piece is because of its longevity…You tend to see the influence of key pieces on the runway for the next season or two, and then five or ten years later you can pull them out of your wardrobe and still wear them."

The best part? "You never have to worry about showing up somewhere and facing that 'oh no!' scenario when someone else is wearing the same thing as you," Walker says, "The likelihood of anyone repurposing an 'it' piece from the runway at the exact same time as you is minimal."

And while the thought of buying pieces that you will love for decades to come is the dream, if you happen to invest in something that you tire of after just a few months there's always eBay and TheRealReal.com, where one woman's "so last season" piece is another's "the one that got away."

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